A series of recent announcements about Australia’s borders reopening mean there is hope of an end to the crisis in our international education sector. But there is still a long way to go. Over 145,000 international student visa holders are stuck overseas. It is still unclear when and how these students may be able to enter Australia.
Even if they do arrive in time for the start of the 2022 academic year, this won’t overcome the issue of the “pipeline” effect. Disruptions to the flow of new students over the past two years will have a long-term impact. International students normally study for two to four years. It can take some time for enrolments to return to previous levels as missed or reduced intakes work their way through the system.
Since March 2020, the number of international student visa holders has fallen by…
